The Professional Development Needs Analysis Questionnaire for Deputy Principals

Abstract

This article reports on the design of the Professional Development Needs Analysis Questionnaire for Deputy Principals (PDNAQ) to measure the problems they experienced and the skills they needed. In the literature, no validated questionnaire to measure the problems experienced and skills needed by deputy principals in South African schools was found. One hundred and fifty-seven deputy principals in secondary schools in the North-West Province of South Africa participated in the study. Both confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses were used to determine the construct validity of the PDNAQ. Fifteen problems and four skills constructs emerged. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were calculated to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. The article concludes that the PDNAQ may be used in similar contexts to determine the problems experienced and skills needed for the professional development of newly-appointed deputy principals.